3 People Who Will Destroy Your Business

This is an exceptionally great post and a brilliant warning for somebody who is cruising toward being all three of these (I’m already DIY Girl, unfortunately…).
I was finally compelled this week after taking a serious look at my own amateurish HTML efforts to compile a list of designers and start contacting them next week. I’ll still be handling the underlying code of my project, but definitely NOT the interface. I’ve always lived a life where I was able to do stuff on my own without delegating so to do so in business was a little odd until I realized I wouldn’t be doing my work any justice by trying to be in control of every last piece of it. Plus, it would flat out be more interesting to see someone else’s take on my project.
I’ve been warned about coming across as Holly Hobbyist before, but brushed it off as someone attempting to push me in the direction of being greedy. Now, I can finally see that that’s the wrong way to look at it.
Again…this was a great post!

Great article. I certainly did the Holly Hobbyist route when I started my company – and learned to regret it five years later when I didn’t have enough cash to expand, hire people, or do any marketing. Hopefully, your post will help other people avoid those same pitfalls.

Stumbled!

Heather, thank you so much for taking the time to visit my blog, and of course, for the Stumble.
A-M, you are a stellar example of a woman who has overcome every startup impediment. Everyone reading, this, check out A-M and follow her on Twitter at @brambleberry so you can follow her example. She rocks!.
Tiffani, I’m so glad you are starting to differentiate between what you can do yourself and what you should do yourself. We all have to watch out for the greedy monster. No one is beyond becoming greedy. But there’s a big difference between comfortably profitable and greedy, and we all can see it clearly more than ever now that some really greedy folks have put our country into an economic tailspin.
Rock on Indies!
dM

OUCH! OUCH! and OUCH! again. I’m all three!! Or have been until we decided it was time to actually have a real business! Take a look at my website now (before professional help) and then check again in a few weeks (after professional help.) I recently STOPPED doing my labels myself and found a graphic artist who needs to increase her portfolio and is worth much more than she asked. I also found a web designer (providence working here I’m thinking…) who also is wanting to increase his porfolio – very inexpensive. And finally – I think we’ll use Donna Maria and her blogging expertise. NOW we’re in business! Great article!

Terrific post! And profoundly truthful!
It has been such a process for me. I started out indulging in buying what I could not afford…what a destructive, dreadful mistake. Candace could have been my middle name! But after three years I am finally in the place where I pay CASH for everything and only have a small portion to pay off before I am debt-free!
I’ve been pretty good about pricing for profit in general and though I really DO enjoy doing-it-all-myself, at critical milestones I have enjoyed delegating and working with people who are experts at what they do.
I keep rolling, rolling, rolling…rolling my cash into building my business without credit. One of my endeavors I started with $50 cash. When I sold an item, I put the money in a “pot”. When I needed to replace, replenish and build, I used what was in my “pot”. It is still going, debt-free and building bigger everyday! I am having a BLAST! It is so freeing to buy supplies and items for new products knowing that when I sell them I don’t have to pay someone else! I get to buy more stuff with cash!
Thanks for the great post!
Michelle

Well, the indie angels sent me here at just the right time! I can see a little of myself in all of those~ especially Holly~ This is the perfect time for me to take inventory and steer clear! I’m printing your post and hanging it by my desk.
thank you!

Thanks for yet another wonderful post, Donna Maria. I resonate very deeply with it because I created problems for myself and my business acting all three of these parts in one time or another. But the “holly” type is my biggest issue. I started my business charging far less than other people in my field, and now though I am charging reasonably for my services I am still reluctant to raise prices with the older clients, fearing they might leave.

This is a great post. I think I’ve been all types of people at some point. The hardest one to let go of is DIY guy. Sure I could do my own website, graphics, labels and make every product/scent under the sun. But, I have to keep reminding myself that it’s really not the best use of my time and energy. After spending all that time doing it for yourself there’s no time left to actually focus on selling the products.

One comment on the DIY Guy… in my experience we truly only have two ultimate resources: Time and Money. And both are available in limited, finite amounts. When Nature’s Gift was new, I did everything myself because there was no money. As the business grew and there weren’t enough hours in the day, I had to husband the limited resources and decide where to spend each of them. Pouring and packaging product was not my forte (I never COULD do the labelling well!) so one of the first expenditures (other than product and ingredients, of course) was hiring someone part time to fill the orders. I still do all the writing on our website, because it’s what I enjoy and do well, but someone else handle’s most of the routine office work.
For me, it’s always a balancing act. When are you better off paying someone because your time is worth more than their salary, and when are you better off doing something yourself because you will do it better than a hired employee.

Marge, thanks for your comment. You are a stellar example of a good steward of your resources. Even though you did your site yourself, it was and has continued to be a valuable resource for anyone who wants to learn about essential oils and aromatherapy. Thank you for the excellent reminder that, when you start with lots of time and no money, your choice is do everything yourself or don’t have a business! I love this question, which boils it down to its lowest common denominator: “When are you better off paying someone because your time is worth more than their salary, and when are you better off doing something yourself because you will do it better than a hired employee?” If everyone would ask that, it would save tons of heartache. Thanks for sharing such a great way of assessing things.

Sensible advice. Although I have never been in business for myself, as a former accountant, I have seen people get themselves into considerable and unnecessary difficulty due to a neglect of financial discipline in the early stages of their business, as per the second type of person you describe.

Andrew, thanks for sharing your input here on the topic of watching finances. We all know people who are hurting from not making sure their financial house is in order. It was a learning process for me and I hope to encourage others.

This is an awesome article! Thank you so for sharing. I am actually a little of each because I am the only person responsible for all aspects of my business. Unfortunately I don’t have a support system so it may be difficult to shed the personalities as quickly as I need to but after reading this article, I will work on this consistently. Thank you!